A huge mound of rubbish was dumped in an old hospital car park in Croydon over the Platinum Jubilee bank holiday weekend.

Piles of rubbish including a sofa and a fridge are still piled up on the site, which is now being guarded by a warden.

The old staff car park for Croydon University Hospital between Bensham Lane and Woodcroft Road is currently fenced off and awaiting redevelopment.

The site was sold off by the hospital and is now owned by developers Social Capital Partners.

The pile of rubbish was first spotted by locals on June 1, the eve of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

Chris Stephens from the developers said bailiffs were brought in on Thursday to move on a group that had moved into the land.

Mr Stephens said: “We have put a guard on site that who will remain there until we have cleared it, we are in the process of arranging that at the moment.

"Hopefully it will be cleared in the next 24 hours, it can’t come quick enough.

“We are going to reseal the gate with large concrete blocks to make sure no-one can get in.

"We can only apologise for the mess, rest assured we are on it.”

Mr Stephens said work on the site is expected to get under way at the end of summer and will take around 14 months to complete.

In October 2021, Croydon Council approved plans for the car park, known as the Old Dairy, to be redeveloped into 115 temporary accommodation flats.

It is set to be used by those who are temporarily homeless or on the council’s housing waiting list.

It will be made up of four buildings between two and five-storeys and plans include a ground floor community café.

The approved application said: “The scheme provides high quality temporary housing for the London Borough of Croydon.

"Delivering light filled, open plan temporary housing, which benefits from a communal landscaped courtyard, as well as providing valuable community and café space for residents and the wider borough.

“The buildings are inspired by the surrounding context and have undergone a rigorous design process to create a cohesive design approach which will further regenerate the area, benefiting both existing and new residents.”